12/08/72
Up 9:00am, pack, pack, eat, leave house as 10:30. Stand Palma Road. Get ride fast good driver and kid. Arrive Palma 11:30. Go to ticket office. Closed at 12:00, should close at 1:00pm. Walk around till now 2 o'clock. Ate at small cafe at 3:00. Looked for grocery or glove shop didn't find one. Walked down Generalissimo and around the puerto to where the ferries leave and read. (I didn't have a ticket yet and I thought there was no way to get one until tomorrow.) I've just got a ticket 3rd class (the cheapest) 250 ptas. (About $4 to go 100 miles on boat) Took the boat after eating 2 sandwiches, slept pretty well.
12/09/72
Got to Barcelona 9:00. Bought some food and note book and pen. Went to Cataluna to Bank of Spain and they won't change my money. Am now at Glorias Square writing 'Paris'. [on cardboard?] Got a ride on the Auto-Pista to about 70 km from Gerona walked along the road hitching for 3 hours and decided to try and get on the Auto P. again. (I was on the older road) Got ride to and then back to the same place. Ride at 5pm 20km with some kids. Walked, got ride to Gerona, walked, ride to Figuras. Walked, camped in some orchard next to a camping place about 12 midnight (it got dark at 5 o'clock)
12/10/72
Slept til about 7 or 7:30am not too badly. Got up packed and walked a ways to here. I don't think I'll get any rides til later, now 9:00. (The skin on side of my thumbnail is splitting) Walked and got a ride to just past the Spanish border, walked 4 people through French border, ate and walked. Got a ride with 2 Americans in motor caravan. Ate lunch with them, long ride. Walked, ride with 2 French in VW bus got out to got on Auto Route am now on Auto Route freezing and wishing I never started, 8:30pm. Walked back a ways and went to sleep about 9 or 9:30pm.
12/11/72
Woke at 8:00, pack and up and write 8:40 now hike. Got a ride in a truck on Auto-route to 7 km from Avignon at 13:00. got a ride to 30 km from Paris, now 13:10. Got taken home to their house. Ate dinner and slept at about 22:00-22:30.
12/12/72
Got up at 7:00. Took a shower and breakfast, bowl of coffee and bread. Left 8:00, got ride to Pont d'Ivry. Saw Notre Dame. Went to Lourve but is closed on Tuesday. Now to see Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower. Metro to Arc and walk to Tower. Like Tower most but would like to see all of Paris, sunny and summer. Most of day very light drizzle. Bought Mal's present and a candle Buddha. I like the Buddha but have nothing to do with it and feel bad about buying it. Try to take it back tomorrow. Walked nearly all day. (Except at a movie to rest at "From Russia with love" with no food except breakfast, 5 figs and a pastry.) A French girl asked asked me for directions once in French. Am eating now. Everything sure gets more cheerful when you eat! Ate, walked around trying to find a toilete. Changed in an alley. Got back to station at about 0:50. It was closed, everything wet, so I got a hotel room, 21f. Sleep at 1:00 or 1:30.
12/13/72
Woke at 8:00, ate, room should cost 15f 10:30. Traded back candle, left Paris. Meet South African girls, rain, car ride truck ride, with all. Toll booth, they got ride, [I] stood. I got ride to Bethune with 3 French girls. Got several small rides, made it to Calais (center of town) and walked to hoverport (4 miles) and slept in a control booth.
12/14/72
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(01/06/13) That's all I wrote at the time, but the next day (12/14/72) was like this:
Was woken in the booth by a car to ask about getting a ticket - I told them I didn't sell tickets but would like to go to the ticket office with them to get a ferry pass. Free ferry ticket. Train to London, arrived after nightfall to mother's mother's flat. Madge's husband Ted answered the door saying, "Oh, it's you then." An anticlimactic moment was had by all. My folks arrived a few days later by van.
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